The University of Nebraska-Lincoln announced Wednesday a geosciences graduate student has received a prestigious fellowship from NASA that will fund three years of doctoral research.

David Peterson's NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship is worth $90,000 and will allow him to continue his research into wildfires. During his fellowship, Peterson will use satellite images provided by NASA to study fires caused by dry lightning strikes, in an effort to improve overall forecasting of fire weather.

Peterson called the use of satellite data "cutting-edge," and said it will help him more accurately pinpoint fires, especially in remote areas.

Long fascinated by storms, Peterson earned his undergraduate degree in meteorology at Valparaiso University, then spent several summers as a storm chaser before heading to UNL for graduate school.

Peterson spent summer 2008 at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. He will finish his master's degree in meteorology this fall.

His research will provide valuable insight into a critical field, said Peterson's adviser, Jun Wang, an assistant geosciences professor.

"Every week, if we turn on the TV, there are reports of fires causing damage," Wang said in a news release.

"Fires emit carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, and carbon monoxide, a pollutant. They affect the clouds, the air we breathe and even visibility on the highway. How can we monitor the fires in a timely fashion, and how can we forecast the potential danger of the fire? David's research is going to provide this valuable information."

The NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowships are available in earth science, heliophysics, planetary science and astrophysics. They are highly competitive: This year, 98 proposals will be funded from an applicant pool of 439.